Abstract
Discovery of blood biomarkers to evaluate exercise-induced muscle damage have attracted many researchers and coaches. This study aimed to determine changes in circulating myomesin 3 fragments as a novel biomarker for exercise-induced muscle damage. Nine healthy males performed 10 sets of 40 repetitions of one-leg calf-raise exercise by the load corresponding to the half of their body weight. Muscle symptoms were evaluated by a visual analog scale (VAS). Blood samples were collected before and 2, 4, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h post-exercise. Plasma myomesin 3 fragments levels were significantly increased at 96 h after the eccentric exercise. The myomesin 3 fragments levels were correlated with other biomarkers of muscle damage and the muscle symptoms. These results suggest that the circulating myomesin 3 fragments levels are potential biomarkers reflecting eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage.